


Needle in a Haystack

by Hippivickyx



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Mention of mild self harm (android), android!Castiel, mild violence, no smut...yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-09 20:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hippivickyx/pseuds/Hippivickyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean works in a garage that specializes in Droids and Cars. When Bobby hires a Doctor Castiel to work on the higher end Droids, Dean didn't expect his life to be turned upside down by it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Needle in a Haystack

  
Art Title: Sanctuary

Prompt Number: 1060

Artist: [felidraxian](http://felidraxian.livejournal.com/)

Fic Title: Needle in a Haystack

Author: [hippivickyx](http://hippivickyx.livejournal.com/)

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU/ Action Drama

Pairing(s): Dean/ Cas

Rating: PG 14

Word Count: 14,500

Art Link: [LJ](http://felidraxian.livejournal.com/1268.html) 

 

Thanks to my wifie Sharda for Beta'ing this sucker and thanks to [Zee](http://brightfallenstars.tumblr.com/) for the wonderful [art!!!!](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/felidraxian/62373430/1907/1907_original.png) Also, I am writing a 'six months later' chapter (with smut) this week. so keep an eye out!! 

 

Enjoy my Plot-hole filled fic ;)

\--

 

“Winchester!" Bobby hollered from his office. "Help Castiel."

 Dean rolled his eyes, he didn’t have anything to work on right now but he didn’t feel comfortable helping the doctor out. Walking into the office full of hanging prosthetic body parts and strange blue wires just freaked him out. He grabbed onto his left arm - sure, his arm was replaced with one of these, but the stuff still made his stomach clench.

 Castiel was on the far wall, hunched over a workbench covered in strange tools. His ‘patient’ was staring at Dean when he walked in. He had tubes coming out of his wrists and his eyes glowed. Droids freaked him out, but he just ignored them as much as possible.

 “Uh, Cas? Bobby said you needed me?” he ran a hand over his plastic arm, a nervous tick he had picked up.

 “Yes, could you please open his plate, I seem to be having trouble.” He remained facing whatever he was working on.

 Dean sighed, he should have never showed Castiel that he knew how to open them. He used his prosthetic hand to dig into the synthetic skin and grab the plate’s lock. With his prosthetic, it was a more dynamic cut. Dirty work, but someone had to do it. He pushed his hand against the patient's shoulder and tapped around for the lock, listening for the right clank. The droid was just staring at him with that freaky glow.

 “This might hurt.” Dean said quietly before placing two of his prosthetic fingers over the lock.

 “We do not feel pain, nor was I programmed to.” Its voice was freakish, a mix of something human and something, well, not.

 Dean couldn’t help but roll his eyes and press forward into the synthetic skin. It was also freaky how much the skin looked real but was squishy. He tried to ignore it until he heard the click of the lock and the breast plate popped open.

 “Done.”

 “Thank you, Dean. You’re always so helpful.” Castiel turned around to shine his blue eyes at him with a small smile.

 Castiel had always been so quiet and reserved. It took a while to coax a smile out of him. He might not work in the shop like Dean does, but he is still his co-worker.

 “I don’t understand why you have so much trouble with the plates. Dontcha have a machine for it?” he went over to the small sink and washed the pink plasma blood off his hand.

 “Yes, well, I sold it to buy a better machine with more uses. I might be depending on your expertise in the future.”

 He watched Castiel dig around the front of the guy now that the plate was open and to the side. It gave Dean a shiver down his spine to see something that looked so human with its chest open and glowing computer-like parts inside of it.

 “I bet Bobby can budget the machine in for you.” Dean stood at the door, awkwardly watching as Castiel poked inside the patient who was still staring at him.

 “I’m afraid not. Need to wait for a few more higher bot payments in order to pay for it.” He straightened his back and turned to Dean. “I hope you do not mind helping me out on your down time.” He had this facial expression surprisingly similar to his brother, Sam. It was between a puppy begging and a child’s joy. Something Dean wasn’t used to saying no to.

 “Guess not, I am being paid for it.” He took a step back and smiled once more at the good doctor.

 Bobby owned one of the only shops that fixed up older model droids in town, but to stay in business he brought in Castiel who fixed up newer models. He came out of nowhere, just started working in the back room with his white doctor coat, cleaning the dark room to be pristine white and sterile.

 At first, they hadn’t interacted at all. Dean didn’t mean to ignore him for so long, he just didn’t have a reason to talk to the doctor. Then one day, his prosthetic started to malfunction. He ignored it until a car almost fell on top of him after his finger decided to push a button. Castiel was so kind and handled his injury calmly and softly. He looked too young to be a doctor and know so much. He knew exactly what to do to fix Deans arm in less than ten minutes.

 “Winchester!” Bobby hollered again from his office, making Dean roll his eyes and walk over to the office. “Did you order those parts I asked ya for?”

 “Yes, Bobby I did. I have been meaning to ask, why do we need an active poly-synthetic reactor? Those kind of bots never come in here.”

 “Don’t worry ‘bout it!”

 “Ok, but I feel like we could have used that money to buy Cas some new equipment and-”

 “Drop it.” Bobby gave him a glare that caused Dean to just walk away.

 Dean worked a few more droids before calling it a night. Cas was cleaning up his office, making little to no sound, so Dean hollered a good night and Cas just waved at him. After yawning enough, he started his motorcycle and headed home. Sam was still awake, despite his long day at school.

 “Do you ever sleep?” Dean said, taking his helmet off and throwing it with his keys.

 “Do you ever stop complaining?” He referred to that morning when Dean didn’t agree with his schedule. Bobby was working him early, waiting for shipments and to let Castiel into the office. The doctor lived above the shop, yet didn’t own a key to the shop.

 "Yah, well whatever.  You hungry?" After Sam declined the food, Dean made enough pasta for the both of them anyways.  He cleaned the kitchen and dragged himself to sleep.

 -

 It was too early. The sun was peeking over the horizon as clouds began to settle. Dean rubbed his eye with a large yawn. He sat in the large chair in the shop trying not to freeze. No shipment. No Castiel. He thought about taking a nap and got so far as settling into the chair, when the door squeaked open.

 "Good morning Dean."

 "Ah, shit!" He only had a moment to respond after the door opened. Castiel was already standing in front of him. Dean eyed the door, which was a good twenty feet away, then Castiel.

 "How are you so damn quiet?" Dean stood and took a step back from the space invading doctor.

 He shrugged and apologised as he proceeded to his office. Dean shut his eyes just for a moment, thinking he had a few hours before they officially opened, or before Bobby got there or before-

 “Dean.”

 “What!” He opened his eyes and Castiel was back in front of him, now in his white coat.

 “The shipment.” He pointed to the garage door where a truck was sitting in the grey sunlight. “I apologise if startled you again.” Castiel looked unsure, staring over at the truck.

 “No, sorry dude. I just- nevermind.” Dean ran a hand over his face and stood up. He shrugged over at Castiel with a smile, the doctor tilted his head and squinted his eyes which made Dean smile. “Don’t you have some parts to work on?” Castiel nodded and retreated to his office.

 As Dean unloaded the bulk of the load, the driver came around with a white box about the size of a chinese take out box with the label on it.

 “It says to hand it to you guys directly. These suckers can be lethal.” The driver pushed it into his hands and picked up his clipboard.

 “Heaven must be a fancy brand, huh.” Dean looked over the box for the part type. The guy sarcastically snickered and pushed a pen into Dean’s free hand. He quickly signed and watched the guy climb into his truck. Dean looked up at the cloudy sky and walked back inside, examining the box. He walked across the garage to stand in Castiel’s doorway.

 “Hey, do you know why Bobby ordered something so expensive? An active poly-synthetic reactor? Isn’t that for high end droids?” As he spoke he watched as the doctor’s head spin around, wide eyed, before he marched up to Dean. He collected the box and looked it over.

 “It’s uh,” Castiel took a step back and eyed Dean, then quickly looked down. “Bobby, wanted it in stock just, just in case. You know.”

 “Uh, no Cas. I don’t. It only stays active for so long.”

 “Well, uh, I’ll keep it active. And safe in here.” His eyes fluttered from Dean to a spot on the wall to his feet. Something else was going on.

 “Winchester!” Great, Bobby was here early.

 “Whatever Cas. See ya at lunch.” He went back into the garage, where Bobby was hovering over the unloaded shipment.

 “Hey Bobby.”

 “Did the reactor arrive?”

 “Yeah, gave it to Cas.”

 “Good. Put these away and get ready to open.” Dean bit his lip, trying to keep his mouth shut. Both Bobby and Cas shut him down on why they needed the reactor yet it was important. Dean let out a long sigh and began moving the shipment items to their designated areas.

 -

 It was almost lunch time and Dean was working on a bot with a missing gear in its left arm. He went over to the supply closet near Castiel’s office when he heard arguing. Dean peered in and his heart stopped.

 The droid from yesterday had Castiel pushed up against the wall. Castiel was struggling against his grip, eyes closed tightly and teeth grinding. He ran in, but not before grabbing the large sledgehammer by the door.

 “Deactivate!” He yelled, hoping the droid would hear him. Its glowing blue eyes turned to Dean too sharply for his liking. “Deactivate,” he said, lifting the sledgehammer with his prosthetic arm.

 “Oh, a human threatening me. How cute.” The droid turned back to Castiel and lifted his fist.

 Dean reacted. He threw the sledgehammer back as the droids fist made contact to Castiel’s sternum. Dean swung hard and sent the droid across the room. A buzzing noise came from the droid as Dean didn’t wait, he rushed to Castiel and picked him up from where he fell. His eyes were shut tight and his hand was pressed over his stomach.

 “What in tarnation is going on?” Bobby rushed in, examining the scene before taking Castiel from him. “Dean!” The droid was back on his feet, synthetic skin was ripped from his metal body, revealing his true nature. His eyes glowed a dull red as he cracked his neck.

 “This is your last warning. Deactivate or I will do it for you!” Dean lifted the hammer, watching the droid proceed forward. Dean swung, hitting the droid square in the head. It popped off and flew across the room, its body fell limp. Dean watched to make sure it wasn’t moving again before leaving the office and looked for Bobby and Castiel. They were sitting in the large chair, he dropped the hammer and rushed over.

 “Are you okay Cas? Is he okay?” he put his hand on Castiel’s arm, hoping it would comfort himself that he was okay. Castiel had his head bowed, eyes still shut tight.

 “Quit crowding him. Cas.” Bobby looked at the white coat stained blue. “Ah, the droid’’s blood is all over your coat. Dean go get him a blanket.”

 “What? Just take the coat off.”

 “Just go!” Dean got up and rushed to the work room where they had some supplies. When he got back, Bobby and Castiel seemed to disappear. He looked around, panicking that Bobby went to the hospital with Castiel and left Dean here.

 “Get some ice, Winchester!” Bobby hollered from his office. The door was shut, and Dean thought of going in there first but went to get ice. By the time he got the ice in a bag and delivered it to the office, Bobby was wrapping a bandage around Castiel’s now bare chest. Dean stared at the bandage, curious of what a wound looked like from the punch of a droid.

 “I need to call the droid department to come clean this up. Can you please take Castiel home with you Dean?”

“What? Why not just help him upstairs?” Bobby helped Castiel back into his shirt, as the doctor hissed at every touch of his midriff.

“He doesn’t want to stay here. Just take him home with you. You have that spare room right?” Castiel looked up at Dean with sympathetic eyes, but didn’t voice his opinion.

“Yes, fine. At least I’m getting the day off.” He walks over to where Castiel was sitting on top of Bobby’s desk, and swung the doctors arm around his shoulder, carefully taking him out of the garage.

“I better hear from you two tomorrow.” Bobby hollered.

Outside, they both stared down at Deans motorcycle for a moment. Castiel looked up with a strike of fear in his eyes.

“Right, I have our delivery truck out back. Let's take that.” Dean turned him and slowly walked them to it. He made sure Castiel was secure in the passenger seat before walking around to the driver's. The old pick up had been a junker before Dean took it and fixed it up for Bobby.

“Sam?” He called out when he opened the front door. Of course his brother wasn’t home, it wasn’t even after noon yet. He watched Castiel, who insisted he could walk, limp behind him as he walked down their small hallway. He opened the door to their guest room, which was cold and bland.

“Well this is it. I hope you can get comfortable. I’ll bring you the couch pillows. Do you need pain killers?”

“No, Bobby gave me some.” He limped to the bed and plopped down. “Thank you Dean, this is fine. I shall rest.”

Dean wanted to say something but it felt awkward and out of place. He just nodded his head and closed the door behind him. He went into the kitchen and began planning his lunch. The curiosity at what had happened nagged at his brain. He knew he would be able to ask Castiel later, after he rested.

Dean must have fallen asleep on the couch because Sam shook him on the shoulder and the sky seemed to have gotten darker.

“Uh, Dean. I think Castiel needs you.” He pointed over his shoulder at the hall way.

Dean ran a hand over his face and pushed himself to his feet. The sleep haze caused him to run into the wall with his shoulder, waking him up a bit. He knocked lightly on the door, it opened slightly. Castiel was laying in the bed, breathing heavily and his eyes pinched shut. A heavy feeling laid in the air, causing Dean to gasp for air.

"Cas?" He walked over when the doctor didn't reply. He was shivering and shaking under the covers, symptoms of a fever yet no sweat on his brow. "Cas." After no response, he reached out and touched Castiel's forehead.

 "Jesus! You're burning up! Cas!" He attempted to wake the doctor while trying not to harm him. "You need to go to the hospital."

 As he spoke those words, Castiel's eyes shot open.

 "No. You can't take me to a hospital. T-take me to the shop."

 "We just came from there. Seriously, Cas. Tell me whats going on."

 "Please Dean. I'm-m overheating."

 "Let me take you to the hospital." He went to grab Castiel, to drag him if he had to.

 "No!" Castiel grabbed onto Dean's arm and a hissing noise made him turn. Castiel's hand had burned through his flannel and onto his prosthetic shoulder. He stared at the mark, making sure it was real. He turned to Castiel,  whose eyes were now glowing blue.

"You're a droid."

"Please.  The reactor at the shop." He fell back against the bed. "S-shower."

Dean grabbed at him again, pulling him towards the small bathroom across the hall. He practically dumped Castiel into the tub and turned on the shower as cold as it would go. As soon as the water hit the doctor, steam rolled off of him. He panted, but produced a pleased moan. Dean eyed him in disbelief before staring at his burned shoulder.  He was so lucky he hadn't asked for the feeling reattachment to his prosthetic.

"Dean what's going on?" Sam was standing in the doorway, staring at Castiel,  who was still steaming.

"Cas is a droid. Fancy that. He's overheating.  Droids and bots don't live through overheating." It hit him, Castiel is dying. "I need to get him back to the shop, can you help me?"

"Yeah, but won't he burn up the seats?"

Sam was always logical.

"I'll put him in the back. The cool air should help him. Come on, we don’t have much time." Dean's mind was pulled between helping Castiel. He was a droid, hid it from everyone. An expensive droid.  A runaway droid. Shit.

 After a struggle to get a dead weight Castiel into the bed of the truck, Dean speeded a bit to the garage which was usually a twenty minute drive. He made it in seven.

 "Shit Cas. You're burning up too fast." Castiel was dry again, eyes shut tight. Sam and Dean struggled to bring him into the garage and laid Castiel down onto his exam bed.

 "What do we do?" Dean knew he needed the reactor, and began frantically searching the office for it.

 "Open my plate. C-careful, it was damaged. The r-reactor, it should be glowing red. Replace it."

 He found the box in a drawer. He opened it with shakey hands; when did he get so nervous?

"Hold this, Sam."

 He pulled Castiel's shirt up to find the bandage covered in blue plasma blood. Castiel's blood. He grabbed something close to surgical scissors, not hesitating to cut it. Under was a small tear where the droid hit him. Plasma blood was seeping out with a dark bruise growing under the synthetic skin. Dean searched for the lock, finding it just above the tear.

 "Ready?"

"Just do it." He said through his teeth. Dean pushed through the skin, causing a blood curdling scream from Castiel.

"Sam, shut him up!" There was too much plasma blood. This shouldn't be happening, droids didn't feel pain or bleed like this. He felt the lock and quickly pulled on it.

Castiel's screams seized, his body went limp as the plate popped.

"Dean?" Sam held Castiel's shoulders down, looking at the lifted plate. He slowly lifted it and pulled it open like a cupboard. A circuit board Dean had never seen in any droid or bot stared back at him. He saw a small cube far inside, flashing red.

"Hand me those tong things," he pointed to the table.

Sam quickly retrieved them, they were surrounded by soft rubber. He'd seen Castiel use them on droids. He placed the white box open with a direct copy of the reactor inside. He slowly pushed the tongs inside, but they didn’t reach. He threw them to the side; he didn't have much time.

He took his prosthetic hand inside, it sizzled when it touched the overheated parts. Touching the reactor caused his hand to short circuit for a moment, sending electricity down his spine. He grabbed the reactor and pulled. It melted his fingers slowly as he dropped it onto the table. He quickly picked up the new reactor and pushed it into the slot.

Dean and Sam stared down into the doctor, waiting for something to happen. A whole minute passed, fear crept into Dean that he had killed him. The reactor pulsed, causing Castiel's body to jolt and the brothers to yelp. The reactor burned blue.

"You did it." Sam said. A thud caused them to both look at the faded reactor where it had melted through the small metal tray and fallen to the cement floor. Dean looked down at his prosthetic hand, three fingers were melted off and burn marks scored the plastic.  He closed the plate and watched it snap shut.

-

 

-

The sound of booting up always surprised him. He had only heard it a few times since his creation. Once his viral check was complete, his vision would return. His reactor was working again but some damage to his plate was still there. The synthetic skin above his plate always healed with no problem, unlike the rest of his body. His right hand tingled, it had burn marks and plastic matter. He wouldn't be able to heal all of his palm.

 "Cas?" Came a voice. Sound always came before vision. "Come on, wake up."

 Castiel recognized the voice and warmth bloomed in his senses. He tried to rush his boot up so he could see. Finally, bright green eyes filled his vision.

 "Hello Dean." He slowly sat up, he was on a bed that was not his own. "Where am I?"

 "My bed. It was closer to the front door. You're heavy when you're sleeping." Worry washed over his face, he sensed another being in the apartment.

 "Is Bobby here?"

 "No. Just Sam and I." Castiel began to panic. Without Bobby, how was he to explain to Dean about-

 "You don't have to tell me." Dean said as he stood up. "Not yet, anyways. Sam’s doing some research for me about your model. First off, it said you need to rest after a reactor replacement. If you need anything, just holler."

 Dean was leaving, he didn't want to be left alone, but his actions didn't connect to his thoughts fast enough.

 Castiel waited a moment before lifting the blanket to find his shirt cut open, bandage gone and his plate area clean. He was still wearing his coat, covered in his own blood. He wanted to remove it but feared Dean’s reaction, he wanted to contact Bobby, but it would be cowardly of him.

 An hour passed before Dean came back with a glass of water. That's when he noticed, Dean's prosthetic hand was wrapped in a bandana, but he saw missing fingers. A dark feeling of regret fell over him.

 "What happened to your hand?" The words were quiet, his eyes avoiding the human's.

 "The reactor was a bit hot. It's all good, I can replace it."

 "Let me. It was my fault, I feel responsible." He stared at the bandana. Dean didn't reply,  just crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

 "I asked Bobby, well I just said you're a droid and he told me 'no shit,' but he won’t tell me anything else." He avoided Castiel’s face, pinching his jeans with his good hand. "I have so many questions but I-" he rubbed the back of his neck.

 "I am a droid. My model is part of Garrison thirteen. We are made to be more human, but there is only a handful of us." He looked down at his arm, knowing what his sleeves hid. "I feel pain, I feel hunger, I feel more emotion than any other droid you'll ever meet. I also scar-" he shrugged off his coat slowly, closing his eyes. He knew they were there. Jagged blue scars up his arms and shoulders, they remind him of the past he ran away from. He could hear Dean intake of breath in a gasp as he risked a look.

 "It's blue." Castiel wanted to roll his eyes but he just shrugged the coat back on.

 "Bobby found me severely injured and took me in. I am glad he did, but I am being hunted.

It caused Dean's head to snap up and he watched the humans jaw lock.

"What do you mean, hunted."

"I disobeyed, I ran and I should be terminated. I thought if I ran, it would take my life. My model needs a human, yet I have none and now I am still alive." He felt embarrassed, having to explain something so painful. Bobby said to forget the past, but he knew this day would come.

 Castiel and Dean grew closer everyday at the garage, Castiel could almost call Dean his friend. He felt an overwhelming feeling of grief, this reveal might ruin that chance of friendship.

 "They can track you?" Dean said as he crossed the room to close the door.

 "No. I believe that droid recognized me. Acted on his own. We should be safe. My tracker was disabled long ago." His hand flew up to the nape of his neck. He felt the soft bumps of his ID, something he tried to hide with his clothes.

 "Dean?" Sam entered the room with a small knock. "Ah, Cas is awake." He came in with a large stack of paper in his hand. "I found something you might want to know." He handed Dean one of the sheets and kept his eye on Castiel. Deans eyes scanned the paper before becoming wide, then snapped up at him.

 "Castiel, I need to know if you're at all tied to a human. You may be a threat." He watched Dean shift to stand between Sam and himself.

 "I assure you, I am not. If I was, you would not be able to get into my plate without their permission."

 "You need to fix that. It says here you could snap if your human disconnects you or dies."

 "I've never been tied to a human, that does not apply to me." He tilted his head. "Why are you so worried, Dean?"

 "Do you realize your model was made to be tied to a human?" Sam spoke up. "Your hard drive is over-heating your reactor because you're on your own." He lifted the papers.  "Says you'll eventually shut down."

 This was news to him. He knew about the over heating but Bobby said he could buy the reactor he needed. He didn't want to burden them. He looked at Dean's burned hand again, guilt bubbling up. He had made a promise to Bobby, and he would keep that promise.

 "How do we fix this?" He stared at Sam and his papers of knowledge. "I must be tied to a human? There is no other way?"

 "Yes, but that's the thing. It does not say how to tie one to the other. Very hush hush about the process." Dean finally moved for the first time since the news.

 "Wait, how do you not know this?" He shifted to look back at the papers for an answer.

 "I ran before that information was given. I learn like you do. Sure, I am loaded with information - but only so much. Most of that knowledge is about droid building and some human characteristics." He began to twiddle his thumbs, something he picked up over time. "I learned about pain and hunger like a human does."

 The room fell silent. Castiel looked down at his hands, wishing for something simple. He wished he had the answers, but he only knew so much.

 "Fine. We'll find out. Shouldn't be hard. We just need to know the different ways to tie a droid to a human and try each one till it works. Easy enough." Dean handed Sam the paper and crossed the room to the bed side. He opened the drawer and pulled out a strange looking tool.

 "How will you know when it works?" Sam asked, anxious to get back to his research.

 Castiel watched Dean as he looked over his arm, like he was looking for something specifically.

"Cas should feel it. Like a click or something." Dean pressed the tools tip to Castiel's wrist and it made a pop noise as it sent a jolt of pain down his arm.

 "Ow, stop that." He snapped at Dean, who quickly apologized.

 "I'll get you some ways." Sam rushed out. Dean picked at his tool with the only fingers left in his prosthetic, before putting it down.

 "I should get you a clean, not ripped shirt." Dean went to his small dresser across from the foot of the bed. Castiel looked down at his bare chest with his coat and shirt hung open.

 "Here. I'll be right back." As Dean was leaving, he noticed another burn mark on the prosthetic shoulder. He ignored the twist of feeling in his gut and began shedding his clothes in favor of the new clean green shirt.

 Dean came back shortly with a new devices, this one had a pincher at the tip and the other looked harmless.

 He watched as Dean pinched his skin above the plate, irritating him to practically growl at the human.

 "Alright, sorry. Not used to you guys feeling anything." He went to pick up the other tool but dropped it, forgetting his hand was missing fingers. "Uh, where is your ID?" He picked it up and Castiel could see his ears turn red. He smiled.

 "Here. " He bent his neck forward and tapped at it. Dean looked but didn't move any closer.

"Let me see your hand." Castiel put his hand out and watched as Dean wrapped his fingers around it. He began poking at the palm quietly.

"How do you know about droids who are tied to humans?" He asked, watching him use more pressure against certain areas.

"Took a class for it, I only know about older models. Newest I know about are the maid 6.0."

"What was it for the maid?”

"It's where you lightly pull the left pinkie and-" he demonstrated and they both didn't expect Castiel's palm to click open to reveal a small opening. "It worked."

They both looked down at the slot open, big enough for a finger, before looking up at each other.

"Now what?"

"I stick my finger in, and you take a blood sample. Kinda weird if you ask me. Should be more permanent than the old droids."

It was quiet for a moment before Dean stuck his pinky in.

 "Dean!" He tried to pull away but his palm closed around the finger and pulled Dean with him.

"Shit!  Stop moving." Panic washed over him, yet it wasn't his own. He did in fact hear a click and Dean was able to remove his finger. A bubble of blood rose to the surface of his finger.

"You shouldn't have done that, Dean." He stared at his own hands.

"And let you suffer? No harm done." He sucked on his finger. "Did it work?"

"I believe it did." He felt relief, and it wasn't his own. "I think your brother should look further into this, bond." The emotion was making him dizzy.

Castiel sat down, watching Dean suck on his finger and leave the room quickly.  Castiel tasted something of copper on his tongue. He could hear voices from the other room, but they were muffled.

When the Winchesters returned, concern filled this emotional void.

"You doing ok?" Sam asked, holding two large books.

"Yes.  I just, need to rest. Thank you for all your help." He meant it to be sincere but he felt annoyance towards Dean's leap of kindness. He wanted to get back to his own bed, but his head swirled.

"Rest. You can stay as long as you want to." He gave a small nod, but he felt emotion swirl around uncomfortably.

-

Waking up in a strange place caused disorientation for a moment before Castiel reconized the scent around him.  The emotion he felt after wasn't his, it was frustration. Castiel ran a diagnostic, and his system gave a new warning. The emotion now made sense. It was human emotions, his human's, it was Dean's.

He was to feel his human's emotion so he can ...take care of him. The thought only pained him; he didn't want any more burden. The frustration glowed, causing him to run a hand down his face. This would take some getting used to. He wondered if there were any effects on the human.

Castiel left the room, walking towards what he thought was the living space. He found Sam sitting at a large table, hovering over books and papers.

"Sam." He said, looking around the small living space. He found no frustrated Dean.

"Cas! You're awake. Dean went into the shop to pick up tools for his prosthetic. In the mean time, I've been trying to research your model." Sam picked up some pages and scanned them. "Listen to this, the droid tied to their human will feel the human's emotion to better understand and help their needs. It also states you're not originally programmed with emotion to keep you from becoming overwhelmed." As Sam said all this, Castiel felt regret, trying to keep the one truth hidden for the Winchester's protection.

"Does it say anything about the humans and the effects?"

"Uh, not really. Mentions someone getting a  head rush when the droid is trying to communicate."

Castiel nodded and took a seat in an empty chair. He would need nourishment to recharge his systems especially after installing a new reactor.

 

-

Dean didn’t come back until later that day with a box of things, including a prosthetic arm hanging out of the box. Sam went into his room to actually study for something, leaving Castiel to sit at the dining room table, alone with his thoughts. He didn’t want to talk about anything that he knew Dean wanted to talk about, but avoiding the human would have been the wrong thing to do.

Instead he immediately stood from his chair and rushed over to take the box away from Dean.

“Thanks. Sorry I took so long, Bobby needed some help on a droid.” He was ignoring Castiel’s eye contact and the emotion he felt from Dean was something heavy in his gut. Shame? Why should he feel shame?

“I’ll be right back, I just need to grab a tool and we can get started.”

“We?”

“Yeah, you said you’d fix my arm. I can’t do it myself and you’re the best prosthetic doctor I know.” Now it was Castiels turn to feel shame. It was his fault his arm was in this state, he was just happy it was only a prosthetic. “Now I could only get parts for the elbow down, but it should work. Fine with you Doc?”

The smile on Dean’s face threw Castiel off, he just nodded and placed the box down.

“Yes, sit.” The human followed his orders as he went through the box. He wanted to make sure he made it up to Dean for all that he had done for him. “It might be easier if we remove the prosthetic altogether, less painful.”

Dean nodded and grabbed the base of the prosthetic, twisting it slightly till a pop and it unlocked. He pulled it far enough to see the bright wires attached to Deans skin.

“You have an older model.”

“Yeah, couldn’t afford to get those snazzy sensors.”

The question of how Dean had come to have a prosthetic arm, itched in the back of his throat. He ignored it and pulled out the wire tool, carefully snipping them enough to reattach again.

Castiel went straight to work on the arm, making sure to fix other issues he found along the way. Dean was quiet for the first ten minutes, until he cleared his throat and reached his one arm back in a stretching pose.

“Go ahead and ask me.”

“Ask you what?”

“About my arm. Everyone does. I wasn’t in a war or anything like that. Sadly it’s not that cool of a story.” Dean ran his hand through his hair before looking down at the empty space below his shoulder bone.

“It is not my place to ask.”

 "Well I’ll tell ya anyways.” Castiel let out a huff and continued to work on the arm. “Sam and I were in high school, and my parents thought it was a bright idea to leave us alone for a weekend; don’t get me wrong, we were good kids, but Dad just got me my dream car to work on. It was pretty beat up, needed a new engine. But I wanted to work on the exterior. Sam and I were in the garage, Sam studying while I was under the car.”

 Dean started tapping his fingers on the table. “Well, at the time we had this helper droid, not much, just handed you things. Well I asked it for a tool and it accidentally hit the button to the Jack. Car fell on me, knocked me out. Came to in the hospital. My arm was cut off by the car’s rusty side. Luckily Sam was able to call someone quick. I would have died from blood loss.”

 Dean’s emotion was pride and something else he couldn’t place. He looked up to find Dean smiling at him, patting his shoulder. “We couldn’t afford the sensors, but my mother refused to let me go armless, especially in this day and age of prosthetics and all that.”

 Castiel nodded, and smiled but continued on the hand. It was a bit shinier than the rest of the prosthetic. He began testing each finger, making sure he wired it correctly. All of a sudden, it felt as if the air got heavy and butterflies filled his stomach.

 “Your turn.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Come on, tell me about one of your battle scars.” He looked up quickly and back down. He didn’t even want to think about how he received these scars, and why he was stuck with them forever. He sucked in a breath before pulling away from his project and pulled up his sleeve a bit to a clean cut scar.

 “I cut myself. I wanted to see if it was true, that I could feel pain, and scar. As you can see, I was correct.” He let the green eyes stare for a moment, before yanking down the sleeve and leaning back down, turning on the tool in his hand.

 “Your stories are a bit more, uh, well emotional than mine.” Dean ran a hand across his neck before standing and walking over to the fridge. “Did you want something to eat?” He felt guilt in the connection and looked up at Dean who pulled out a sandwich Sam made for his brother earlier that day. He nodded and watched Dean shrug.

 “Here, at least you need this right?” He handed Castiel a bottle of cold water, a piece of sandwich hanging out of Dean’s mouth as he chewed on it.

 “Dean, I would like to return to the shop tomorrow. May I?”

 “Why are you asking me?”

 “Because, you’re my human. I must.” He felt the confusion from Dean turn into something like embarrassment.

 “Yes, Cas. Of course you can come back to the shop. I wouldn’t keep you away from it, even with this whole tied thing.” The human ate his sandwich in silence until Castiel asked for him to prep for his new arm.

 After he tested it out on cleaning up his dishes, he told the doctor he was tired and retired to his room. He told Castiel to stay in the guest room and if he needed anything to ask, but Castiel could feel the guilt and embarrassment in the connection and knew not to ask.

 -

 

-

 Maybe he made the coffee a bit too strong, but Dean was inexplicably irritable all morning.  He and Cas had to travel together to the shop, and the whole way there the doctor stared at him as if on the verge of saying something.  Dean thought if he did, he might snap at the poor guy.

 Thankfully it was a very short trip, and silent.  Bobby had already opened shop, so Dean didn't have to do any rounds, usually on these days he was grateful.  He'd walk right up to the order board and just get cracking.  But his feet followed Castiel over to the office where he worked on the high-class droids.

 He tried to just pass by as if he was on his way down the hall, but a sense of foreboding came over him when Castiel entered, pushing the door open.  It gave Dean a glimpse of all those hanging prosthetics - body parts.  Weapons.  He couldn't resist stopping, sticking his head in.  He glanced around, as if expecting one of the disassembled droids lined against the far wall to boot up on its own.

 "Dean."

 He stopped and turned to see Castiel staring at him with his head cocked to one side.  He opened his mouth to reply, but Castiel interrupted him.

 "Everything is fine.  You can calm down," he said, those blue eyes boring into Dean.

 Dean scoffed at that, "Calm down?  I'm not -," he fished for a word that wasn’t “un-calm” and came up blank.  He forced a short laugh and decided to go with, "calm down.”  He rolled his eyes at Cas as if he was the one acting strange and quickly turned on his heel, high tailed it to his end of the shop.

 But it was as if Dean hadn't slept for crap, he was all distracted and - jumpy.  When he tackled the first order on his list, he quickly realised that he was way too unfocused for any front end jobs right now.  He almost took out a perfectly good CO2 sensor before noticing that there was a rag in the air intake.  How the customer had managed to lose a small towel under the hood, he had no idea.  But he clearly wasn't in his right mind, so he limited himself to quick, mindless jobs.  Mostly tire adjustment orders on cars, and simple tweaks to smaller working droids.  And a lot of bathroom breaks, for some reason.

 The good thing about these jobs, though, he could get through them quickly.  He spent the better part of the morning taking car after droid onto the hoist, it made him feel more productive.  It seemed after each job, he had to pull his gloves off and head down the hall to the bathroom.  He had to pass the doctor's office in order to get down there, and Cas seemed to be elbows-deep in the same job every time.

 It was nearing lunch time when he came across Castiel's office while Bobby was asking him to look over a single arm on a domestic model.

 "Woah, those kitchen types have dangerous parts, right?"  Dean stepped in.  "I should take that into the shop, wouldn't want it to break any of Cas' high tech equipment, huh?"

 Bobby chuckled.  "You have a line up of odd droid jobs, Dean, I need this one done quick."

"I took care of them all this morning, I need something to do."

Before either Bobby or Cas could protest, he quickly gathered up the parts and dragged them back to his larger workshop.

At one point he was running the air compressor so long that for a short while all the noise had made him completely deaf.  The shop was eerily quiet once he turned it off again.  The feeling became more and more distracting, he couldn't stop looking over his shoulder to see if someone was calling to him.  Bobby was always irate if he had to come down here to get Dean's attention.  He put down what he was working on and slipped out of the garage again, making his way towards the bathroom even though this time he didn't have a drop of piss in him.

Castiel's door was closed.  Could one of his ‘patients’ have closed it?

Dean slowed to a stop and deliberated; he was on the verge of knocking just to see if the doctor was alright, when Bobby came out of the office next door.  "Do you need something, boy?"

At least his sense of hearing was working just fine.  "Nope, I was just, uh - going to grab a cup of joe.  You want?"

Bobby looked him up and down, grumbled, "Not unless you're puttin' whiskey in it," and dismissed Dean with a wave.

There was a coffee shop just down the block.  It stank of patchouli, it was full of hippies, and the coffee was awful.  Organic shit.  But he just needed to stay close to the garage, so he ventured in and ordered two black house blends.  When he brought them back, Castiel was not amused.

He opened the door and stared first at Dean, then at the recycled-materials-only cup that was offered to him.  "I don't drink coffee, Dean."

 Dean quickly racked his brain - as a droid, Castiel's model was obviously capable of deriving nourishment from food.  He ate all the time.  But coffee?  No, he'd never seen the doctor with a cup of coffee.  "Ah, are you a tea person?  I just thought you could use a pick-me-up.  What with being on the mend and all."

 Castiel regarded him quietly for a moment.  "Caffeine is not particularly beneficial to my recovery," he said flatly.

 "Never know 'til you try, right?"  Dean pushed it at him.

 Castiel finally took the cup, sipped it.  He squinted down at it unhappily and said,  "It is bitter."

 "You are," he replied, gesturing with one hand in exasperation.  He turned to leave, but Castiel spoke up again.

 “Dean. I can feel how tense you are.”

 Dean just kept walking, replied over his shoulder without looking back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cas.”

 Dean tried to get his mind off of all this nonsense and returned to his work on this arm droid. It was a simple task that was taking him forever to do. When he had to access the supply closet he threw a screwdriver a bit harder than necessary into his tool box, picking out another as his head turned, yet again, to look at Castiel’s office. He didn’t have any customers, he was just moving stuff around, but Dean still felt that strange feeling. He turned back to his work and tried his hardest to ignore it.

 “Stop it Dean. It doesn’t concern you.”

 He finally had his mind wonder to how he was going to find a replacement finger for the darn droid when his vision went dark. He gasped for air and before he knew it, he was on his back gasping for air, watching images pass his eyes. A woman with no smile and a large needle hovered over his vision causing him to scream. He tried to push her away but his arms were frozen to the cold concrete. He saw her lift her other hand with a blade dripping in blue, and a wicked smile finally grew on her face quickly. He screamed louder, trying to move, trying to close his eyes.

 “Dean!” His body shook awake, he continued to gasp for air as the blue eyed doctor’s grip tightened around him. He tried to slow his breathing, trying to make sense of it all.

 “What was that?”

 “I do not know. We should get you home.” He saw Castiel turn his head, where he followed to find a very red faced Bobby. They both stood up slowly and headed back to the truck, Castiel placing Dean into the passenger seat.

 “Do you even know how to drive?”

 “Yes, Dean. Bobby taught me when he needed me to do deliveries.” He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, looking back behind him. “What happened, Dean?”

 "I saw, this woman. She was, torturing me, but it was-"

 "Was she blonde?" Castiel asked with a stern voice. Dean hummed in agreement, still feeling the tightness of fear in his chest. "I am sorry Dean. I had no idea this bond would do this. I believe I must have chipped you or something else." Dean could see Castiel grip on the wheel tighten. "As I can feel your emotions, you are getting something from me."

"I'm getting what, your bad dreams?"

"I wish they were nightmares." He paused to turn into the drive way. "Memories." Castiel turned off the car and sat back with his eyes closed. "I wasn't a very obedient droid. They punished me, and tortured me."

Dean wanted to ask further but he could feel Castiel's fear in the air around them.

"Will I continue to receive these, nightmares?"

"I am unsure. I hope not. You should rest. I'd rather you be here at home instead of the shop if you do receive another."

They climbed out of the truck and Dean followed Castiel inside. Sam wasn't home quite yet, so the house was quiet. He immediately went to the couch and plopped down. He looked up at the doctor and tried to smile.

"Lucky for you,  I was so done with today at the shop. Maybe a game is on." He turned to their small television and saw Castiel join him from the corner of his eye.

Dean's thoughts got away from him as he lost focus on whatever was on the television.  Castiel said punished and tortured, meaning two separate things. He wanted to ask but feared Castiel would be uncomfortable with it. He had come to care for Castiel and wanted him to live like a human. Dean had no idea why,  but he felt anger that someone wouldn't give him the chance.

"Dean. You're thinking too much.  I can feel your rapid change of emotion."

"Oh, sorry. Forgot." He rubbed his new prosthetic arm and tried to focus on the screen when his eyes found a glass of water sitting on the coffee table. "Sam. Always leaving his things around-" he went to grab it when his prosthetic spazzed and caused him to react. Dean tried to catch the flying cup but it broke on the table and he fell forward.  Broken glass laid across the table, exactly where Dean had broken his fall. He lifted his palm and found pieces of glass dug into it.

"Don't move!" Castiel pulled him back onto the couch and grabbed his wrist. After examining Dean's palm he turned to his prosthetic and looked at the elbow lock.

"You worked it too hard today. You are missing a screw." Dean could feel him prodding on his prosthetic and the sting in his palm caused annoyance. Castiel must have picked up on that. "Where is your first aid?"

"Under the sink in the bathroom."

"Don't move." He watched as the doctor quickly walked down the hall. Dean stared down at his bloody palm. He did seem to become overwhelmed when he was worried. Last time it happened was when Sam was sick and Dean was forced to work. He ended up destroying a domestic bot instead of fixing it.

 After a full five minutes passed without any sign of Castiel, Dean walked down the hall, cradling his bloody hand. The bathroom door was ajar and he peered in. Castiel was sitting against the wall with the first aid kit open and items sprawled around him. But Dean focus was trapped on Castiel's right bare leg. It wasn't a droid leg, it was a human prosthetic.  Droids shouldn't even be able to connect the leg to their circuits. Castiel was using a tool from the first aid kit to dig out something from his joint. He fell back against the wall with a small bolt in hand. Dean backed away and retreated back to the living room. He was in shock and was amazed Castiel had not picked up on the emotion.

 "Dean?" Castiel re-entered the room with the first aid box. "Why are you panicking?"

 "J-just afraid I pushed glass further into my hand." Castiel set to work immediately on his palm with a set of tweezers.

 -

 Sam came home soon after Castiel had wrapped Deans palm and attached the new bolt to his arm.

 “Look, I don’t know if this is a good idea, but until we research a bit more, I say Castiel should stay.” Sam crossed his arms.

 “I won’t be useless around here. I will work, just like I do for Bobby.”

 “Well, we don’t exactly have a shop here you can work at.”

 “I can do it in another form. I can cook.” Both the Winchesters turned to each other. “You think just because I’m a droid who didn’t finish his programming, I don’t know how to cook? I have to feed myself you both know, and I have taste.”

 “Prove it.”

 Castiel stood straight up and strutted to the fridge. He pulled out a carton of eggs, and a block of cheese. Dean just scoffed and went to the couch to watch TV. It wasn’t until he smelled something delicious and Sam practically moaning that he re-entered the kitchen.

 Castiel smiled and handed Dean a bowl of what looked like ordinary scrambled eggs. He smiled and picked up the fork, placing a bite into his mouth. Something exploded in his taste buds and he happened to moan along with his brother.

 “Do I take your pleasurable sounds as a yes?”

 Dean could only feel embarrassed and nod his head, turning away from the doctor and returning to his couch with his now delicious scrambled eggs.

 -

 "I'll be home later tonight." Dean hollered over at the doctor and his brother.  Turns out, Castiel was fluent in Latin. He had become Sam's tutor. Bobby gave Tuesdays off for him to help Sam with his homework. It was only about two weeks and the good doctor was spending most of his free time over at the Winchesters’. Dean was happy that Castiel was here, even if it was for the wrong reasons of a silly human-droid bond.

 Work was slow but Dean hummed a jolly tune and thought of what to ask Castiel to make for dinner. Business slowed down enough that Bobby decided to close shop.

 He tried kick starting his bike one more time, before giving up and pushing her into the garage.

 “Not workin’?”  Bobby was doing some paper work at his small entry desk.

 “I think its something electrical, I’ll walk. It’s still early.”

 “Ya sure? I can take you home after this. The truck is still stuck at your place.”

 “It’s, fine. I’ll walk through town.”

 “Tell Castiel I’d like him to clear his room if he is planning to stay with you.”

 “Sure thing.”

 Dean walked down the small gravel road which turned to pavement half way and buildings line the streets. He climbs up on the sidewalk and begins his walk through the small town. He loved walking down the streets of his town, it wasn’t overly crowded and they never got tourists. He could just window shop as he walked down the streets, listening to small chatter. He smiled and thought of the last time he just walked around his town.

 He was about on the edge of town when a couple walked past him, arguing. He became distracted by their conversation, and when he turned back, someone sprayed water in his face. He cursed and tried to wipe it off and look who it was at the same time.

 “What the hell? Walking around with a spray bottle.” He used his sleeve to try to wipe the rest off and continue on his way.

 It wasn’t until he was walking down the small strip of highway he had to go on to get home that his stomach did a one eighty and he began to get the chills. He tried to push through the pain until he became dizzy and he couldn’t keep his eyes open from the knocking in his head. He fell to his knees in the grass on the side of the road and clutched his stomach. Dean tried to tell himself not to throw up, don’t throw up on the side of the highway, but chunks flew and he felt his vision blur.

 That was when he remembered his cell phone was dead, and that he could only think of one other thing to help his situation. The connection he had with Castiel, emotionally he knew the droid would feel him. He tried pushing the pain through the connection, along with chills from being outside. He hoped to god that Castiel understood what he meant before he crawled away from his vomit and leaned against the closest light pole.

 

-

 

-

 Castiel’s shift of vision was the first hint something wasn’t right. He was hovering over the sink of dirty dishes, when he felt a burst of pain run through him causing him to fall to his knees. He gasped for air, trying to focus on the pain.

 “Cas?” Sam was by his side, trying to find out what was wrong.

 “Dean,” was all he had to say before they both were outside, climbing into Sam’s small car and hitting the road back to the shop. But they didn’t have to go far. Sam slammed on his breaks when he saw his brother sitting against a light pole on the opposite side of the street. He was curled up in a ball, eyes pinched closed. Castiel was out of the car first, rushing across, ignoring the honking traffic.

 “Dean, what happened?”

 “I don’t know.” He groaned and tried to shift into Castiel. Great pain and ache came through the connection as Castiel picked up Dean with ease and waited for Sam to pull onto their side of the road.

 “He’s going to complain you carried him like that.”

 “Not now Sam.” Castiel stated, laying Dean down across the back seat and rushing around to get into the car.

 “He better not vomit in my car.”

 Luckily there was no vomit, but Dean did sweat a lot. Castiel quickly did a viral scan on him, trying to remember all the basic procedures to do with a sick human patient. Dean’s heart rate was high, and temperature same as the latter. He was shaking violently and his eyes were closed tight. Castiel did one more viral scan when his sensors went off loudly; Dean was poisoned. It was a mist humidifier, holding some kind of virus. It was supposed to kill him, but Dean’s body had quickly attacked the virus and was trying to fight it off.

 “So?”

 “Your brother has been poisoned by some kind of virus.” Castiel quickly gathered blankets and began wrapping Dean in them. The shivers did not stop but they slowed down.

 “Who would do this?”

 “Someone trying to get to me.” Castiel admitted quietly. He didn’t want to even admit it to himself but it was true. “I shall fix this Sam. I promise.” He wrapped his hand around Dean’s and squeezed, hoping the human knew what he meant by it. “I promise.”

 -

 

-

 Dean's eye lids felt heavy, refusing to open. He could hear someone shuffling around in the room. A click and a strange feeling in his prosthetic shoulder caused him to open his eyes and look over. Castiel was shrugged over his prosthetic with small tools, tinkering away. Dean groaned and closed his eyes. His head, no his whole body ached. He felt foolish about having to ask for help like that, using his and Castiel's bond.

 "What happened?" Dean softly asked, refusing to open his eyes. He listened to the doctor work on his arm. "What are you doing?"

 "I am recalibrating your arm for combat use. Just a bit. Strengthen it a bit more." Castiel's tool hummed against the arm. "You were attacked."

 "Someone misting my face is hardly-" he paused, opening his eyes a little. "That stuff, it was-"

 "Poison. Well, in a way. It was to make you violently ill and die of it. Covers up murder quite nicely." Castiel didn't sound happy.

 "Why me?" Dean closed his eyes, breathing in deep, feeling his lungs tighten up.

 "They were after me. They must have thought- it won’t happen again. I won't let it. I made a promise to your brother."

 "Is Sam ok?"

 "He is fine.  Making dinner for us."

 The room fell silent as Dean drifted in and out of consciousness.  

 "Are we in danger Cas?" He asked quietly, too weak to get angry. The long silence caused him to open his eyes. Castiel was staring at him, eyes practically glowing.

 "I wish I could say no." He put down his tool and rested his hand on Deans shoulder. "When you bonded yourself to me, your fate twisted with mine. And my fate is an unhappy one."

 Dean had more questions but the light besides the doctor burned pain into his skull. He closed his eyes tight and turned away. Anger bubbled up in his throat.

 "Sam isn't safe as long as he is with us." He stated.

 "What are you suggesting?"

 "We must leave. Just for now. You had them off your tail for a while, lets throw them off again."

 "Its not that easy. You're human. You-"

 "You and I are basically the same. Don't tell me otherwise. Look, I have a friend up north who is helpful if you need to disappear. Let me rest and I'll call him." Dean curled up on his side, shrugging Castiel away. "Don't tell Sammy anything."

 -

 -

 Castiel channeled his guilt into working on Dean's prosthetic arm. Dean was his human. As much as Castiel hated to admit it, he was a droid to serve a human. Normal droids would not have others after him.  Nor put his human in danger.  

 Dean’s suggestion to leave and try to disappear was a good idea, but he wished he didn’t have to bring Dean along. Maybe if he left tonight while his human was asleep, it will keep him safe. Despite the fact that he will still feel Dean every waking hour and worry about him. He let out a long sigh and stood once he realized Dean was fast asleep. The virus was still in his blood, luckly his body was fighting. According to his internal drive, Dean shouldn't be able to fight it like this. He should be dead.

 Castiel walked out into the hall and looked around for Sam. With no sight of him, he rubbed into his bad leg. Since he removed the bolt, it was causing him pain. Unlike Dean, Castiel had to install sensors that connect his leg with his pain sensors. He was lucky that the leg even worked with his body, Bobby called it a miracle.

 "Castiel?" Sam was next to him, looking down at him in worry. He straightened up and tried to smile.

 "Your brother is doing much better. He should be able to heal just fine." Castiel began to walk by Sam, he needed to make sure Sam was able to finish dinner and start cleaning up after him.

 "Is there something you're not telling Dean and I that we should know?" Sam asked. He could tell there was hesitation in his question.

 "I am, but it is for your own good. Do not worry. Everything will be fine soon." He continued down the hall away from the Winchesters.

 -

 When Sam went to school the next morning, Castiel took some water to Dean. His human had woken up just an hour before Sam had left, and of course Sam had a million questions for his brother. Dean was a marvel at dodging the questions while managing to avoid completely lying to him.

 "I still feel like crap."

 "It shall pass. You should call Bobby."

 "Why the hell would I call him?"

 "We are about to disappear. I think we should tell at least our employer. He could watch over Sam while we are gone, keep us updated." Dean stared up at him, concerned eyes circled with a dark shade.

 "Yeah, good idea." Dean picked up his phone from the nightstand and opened it. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. He watched Castiel through half lidded eyes, trying to stay awake, he assumed. Dean still looked very sick, though when Castiel did another check the human wasn't running a temperature.

 "Hey Benny." Well that wasn't Bobby. "Long time no talk. Listen, I need a huge favor from you."

 Castiel realized he called his 'friend' to help them disappear. After a few minutes of chatting, Dean was finally smiling at something this Benny was saying. It caused Castiel to glare and feel rocks in the bottom of his stomach. He hung up and immediately called someone else. This time it was Bobby. He quickly explained what had happen to him and their plan. Bobby did not sound pleased what-so-ever, but Dean finally got him to agree and also had Bobby bring something to the house.

 "Bobby will be dropping off our transportation tomorrow when Sam goes to school. That’s when we leave." Dean fell back onto his pillow and sighed. "I feel like I'm betraying my brother for his own safety." Castiel hummed and sat next to Dean on the bed.

 A cold shiver ran down Castiel's spine. He hasn't felt Deans emotions since they got home. Something isn't right. He quickly placed a hand on Dean's chest and began another viral check, before checking Dean's finger he used to bond them.  His viral's were clear, and the bond was still there so why couldn't he feel any of Dean's emotions.

 "Calm down Cas, you're freakin' me out." He looked up and found eyes, wide with concern.

 "I can't feel your emotions Dean. I went weeks with it and now its gone."

 "I don't see the problem." Dean relaxed a moment before turning back to Castiel. "Did you like it when you were my own mood ring?"

 "It was comforting that I knew when you were annoyed or tired or happy. It was something I came to enjoy. It’s strange without it. Maybe my hardrive is corrupted." He lifted his wrist and shook it, listening for anything loose.

 "Or maybe this bond thing is morphing. Just calm down."

 "What do you-" he looked over at Dean who's eyes were closed tight. "Do you feel something of our bond?" Dean was quiet for a moment before he opened one eye to peer at Castiel.

 "Maybe. I don't know. Yes?" He rolled over, away from him. "It started yesterday, and its annoying me. It’s like you're nagging at me from the inside."

 "I'm sorry. I had no idea it would do something like this. Sam was doing some research into it, but not many people have bonds with, uh, emotional droids."

 "Just, go clean something. We are leaving tomorrow and I'm tired." He left Dean and made sure to close the door behind him. Dean could feel his emotions, and he couldn't feel Deans. Was it one sided? He wanted to know more. He turned to Sam's room and smiled.

 He knew how to find out.

 -

 -

 "Dean? Have you been touching my laptop?" Sam asked quietly from the doorway. Dean groaned and turned towards the door.

 "Sam, I haven't moved from this spot." His head felt better, but his body still ached.

 Castiel was in the kitchen washing dishes. He could feel the doctor’s emotions, and occasionally saw what he saw. It was causing him to have sharp pains down his spine and confusion of what he was feeling. Castiel's emotions were so much stronger than his own, shooting up his spine and into this empty void he hadn’t known was empty. The good doctor was content at the moment, in fact, Dean could almost hear him humming a tune.

 "Why don't you go to school?" He tried to ignore the sound of humming in his ears.

 "Fine, whatever." Sam turned to leave and Dean's heart leaped.

 "Sam wait." He watched his brother turn around with a tilted head. "Hope you have a good day."

 "Yeah, whatever weirdo." He laughed at his brother and walked away. If that was the last thing he said to his brother and saw of him, he was fine with that. As long as it’s nothing of a bad memory. He signed and turned his head into the pillow. He wasn't going to cry, he was a grown ass man.

 It wasn't for another few hours that he felt Castiel's emotions fill with worry. At least they didn't cloud his senses like they did the day before.

 "Cas." He said, knowing the doctor was outside his door. He entered, fidgeting with his hands.

 "I packed our bags and they are by the front door. Bobby had called and said he was on his way." Castiel walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. "I think I felt your emotion this morning."

 "Yeah, ok." Dean wasn't interested. He was annoyed he had to leave his home. He tried to ignore the hard feeling in his throat.

 Bobby showed up with his most prized possession, his Impala. He hadn't driven it since Sam started school, only because he needed to save every penny for Sam instead of spending it on gas. Castiel gaped at the car and seemed to appreciate the sleek blackness of it. He watched from the front door as Castiel loaded the car. Bobby stood near him, watching along with him.

 "Two people came by asking about Cas."

 "What did you say?"

 "That he quit a week ago and said he was moving to Texas."

 "Thanks." Dean said watching as the doctor walked back up to the small house. "Got everything?"

 "I believe so." The doctor turned towards Bobby and smiled something sad. He didn't feel joy in the void. It was worry again. "Thank you for everything Bobby. You showed kindness when no one else had." Dean watched his face transformed from something sad to something soft, caring.

 They climbed into the Impala with Dean in the driver’s seat. He felt slightly out of breath, still affected by that strange virus. Even after resting a few days and constant checks from Castiel, he felt as if he had the worst cold ever.

 He ran a hand over the leather seats and smiled. He missed having this feeling, the engine purred and he smiled. He caught Castiel smiling at him, and envy bled through the void.

 "Shut up." He took the emergency break off and began their long journey from Kansas City to Canada.

 It was only a few hours into the drive when Dean was getting an itch he could only scratch if he asked Castiel the questions he has been dreading to ask. He gripped the steering wheel and tried to view the doctor from the corner of his eye. Castiel was staring out the passenger window, and at this angle he could see the droid’s ID on the back of his neck.

 "Tell me Cas." He blurted out. Nerves settling in.

 "Tell you what, Dean?" Dean knew that he knew what he was asking.

 "You know what I'm asking." It became quiet for a moment as Dean felt regret in the bond. Then Castiel spoke.

 "Her name is Naomi. She takes unwanted droids and makes them into her own weapons. I was to become an assassin droid." He shifted in his seat. "I was originally created to be a health droid."

 "A doctor." Dean scoffed.

 "Yes. She started to recreate me and I thought it was to help me become a better droid for mankind. I believed her; I was naive. Before she could reprogram me to a lifeless killer, I tried to escape." He paused, looking over at Dean and quickly away.

 "Her men captured me and she injected me with something that shouldn't have been on the market yet. A humanoid serum that gives me human emotion, and more." Dean looked over and noticed the scar peeking out of his shirt collar.

 "After that, she tested the affects on me. Cutting me open and tourturing me."I do not remember, but I did in fact escape again." He began running a hand over his prothstetic leg. "I woke up, next to a dumpster with my leg gone, bleeding." Castiel took a deep breath. "Bobby found me and fixed me up."

 Dean nodded and let the knowledge soak in. It was horrible and he wanted to comfort this horrific feeling from the droid. After a few more hours of quiet driving, he became angry. How could someone like Naomi create such droids and have such power over anything, or anyone. Castiel was more human than anyone else he'd actually met. Dean only cared for a few people and Castiel was slowly becoming one of them. He started this journey only to drop Castiel off somewhere safe and return to Sam, but it was looking like he was having doubts about this.

 "We should stop and rest. You already went through a whole state Dean." It was true, they had passed the border for Kansas an hour ago and were entering Nebraska. They would make Winnipeg in about a day’s time. Dean pulled into a Motel 6 and asked Castiel to gather their essentials for the night. In the lobby, an older woman with a domestic droid stared over his shoulder at Castiel.

 "Good afternoon sir. Room for two?"

 "Yes, please."

 "We only have one left with a queen, will that be a problem?" He looked up from his wallet at her.

 "Uh, no. I guess not." The lady smiled and helped finish the transaction. Dean walked back towards the car with key in hand. His face was burning up, and birds fluttered in his stomach and he had no clue why.

 He opened the door to the dark room to reveal the tiny bed in the middle.

 "Dean."

 "Yeah Cas?" He ignored the feeling that filled the void.

 "There is only one bed. I do require sleep."

 "I know, it’s the only room they had." He threw his bag in the small chair and plopped at the end of the bed. "We gotta make it work, it’s only one night Cas, don't make it such a big deal."

 He immediately shot back to his feet and rushed to the bathroom. His heart was hammering in his chest. Hoping some cold water would help, he sat on the toilet seat and felt the confusion in the bond.  

 "Dammit." He was embarrassed and nervous, and his body was reacting strangely to something that shouldn't be reacting like this. He luckily thought straight enough to grab a few things and began getting ready for bed, in spite of the fact he probably wouldn't get any sleep.

 When he left the small bathroom, he found Castiel in his nightwear sitting on the edge of the bed closest to the door. He gave Dean a weak smile and pulled the covers back. Dean quickly walked across the room, climbed into bed and turned his back away from the droid.

 "Goodnight Cas." He said sternly and closed his eyes shut.

 "Goodnight Dean." Castiel quietly said, as Dean could feel the droid crawl into bed with him. His heart was threatening to burst out of his ribcage and he swore Castiel could hear it. But the exhaustion he felt wasn't coming from himself so he was sure the doctor didn't know what Dean was feeling. It was surprising how fast he fell asleep after feeling both his and Castiel’s exhaustion.

 -

 -

 Castiel was awake before the sunrise. They had both gone to bed at about five in the afternoon yesterday, and he hadn't expected them both to sleep this long. He stared up at the ceiling, remembering the feelings Dean felt yesterday.

 The shock of having to share a bed was his own, but the strange butterfly feeling and embarrassment was not his own. Dean was worried about sharing a bed with him. It caused him to be confused at first, thinking that Dean was afraid because Castiel was a droid, but then he realized it was something completely new to him. This feeling was strange, and he could admit it that he enjoyed it. Dean was feeling a strange affection for Castiel and it scared him. It made Castiel smile up at the ceiling and realize he has had this feeling himself.

 Whenever Dean would chat with other clients at the shop, Castiel was always making sure he would smile at him after, to make sure Dean was giving him the same attention. He also knew he was jealous of Dean when it came to Dean talking to his friends, but he never let it show. He was still learning about all these human emotions, and he was happy to learn new ones if they were tied to Dean Winchester.

 Castiel knew Dean was awake from the strange warm sensation he received in the gut of his stomach. Dean grumbled and shifted on his side of the bed. Castiel turned his head and found himself nose to nose with his human. Dean's green eyes peered through his half open eyelids. Dean smiled and pushed forwards till their lips barely touched. Dean turned back around and let out a yawn.

 If Castiel had a heart, it would have had an attack. Had Dean just- but was he even awake- his emotion isn't anything like yesterday. Castiel had a stone in his throat and an itch on his lips. He wanted to do it again, but Dean just, kissed him half asleep. Humans sometimes do things in their half asleep state that they could regret, right? Maybe Dean was having a dream and it caused him to think Castiel was part of it, but was he himself in Deans dream? He quickly ignored it, remembering that Dean could also feel his emotions and this thought process could cause Dean to wake up and realise what he had done.

 It was another hour before his human fully woke up and rushed to the bathroom. Castiel took this time to get dressed and prepare to leave. Dean seemed to be taking a long shower, which Castiel doesn't mind. He lays on the bed, staring at the same spot on the ceiling and thinking of the kiss. A warmth pulled into his groin again, similar to earlier this morning, and he became confused. A shot of pleasure ran down his spine, causing him to gasp for air. He sat up quickly and looked over at the bathroom door. What was that?

 He was going to ask Dean about it when he came out, but decided not to. Maybe it was something personal, or human. He knew a lot about human biologically, but not mentally.

 As Dean opened the bathroom door with a roll of steam behind him, the hotel front door slammed open causing them both to look over. Two droids, one domestic to hunter and the other still unprogrammed. Castiel felt something inside him boot up. As he felt fear for his human, memories of what Naomi did program him with came forward.

 The droids attacked them both, as Castiel tried to take the hunter down as fast as he could. He didn't even know what he was doing, his body moved on its own. It practically knew where to hit and what to pull to deactivate the droid and send him to the floor. He turned to face the other who had Dean pinned to the wall. Dean's face was turning the wrong shade of blue, blood running down his temple. It caused Castiel's systems to click and he filled with rage.

 He grabbed the droid’s shirt collar and threw him across the room. He grabbed Dean before he fell completely to the ground and did a lightning fast vitals check. He had two broken ribs and a sprained wrist. Castiel turned back to the droid and walked up to him. It cowered away, meaning Naomi gave it the same humanoid serum. He did not hesitate, he grabbed the droid’s head and ripped it off, tossing it to the side.

 Turning back at Dean, he felt great fear in their bond. Castiel looked down at the dead droid’s and realized what had happened. He was acting like the monster Naomi was trying to create him into.

 "Dean. I'm- are you alright?"

 "I'll be fine. Let’s get out of here before more come." He hissed when he pushed himself back to his feet. Castiel was there next to him, gently wrapping his hand under Dean's to give him support. They go to the car, and put their stuff in the trunk. Castiel insisted on driving and they were off.

 Castiel drove for almost six hours before Dean told him to stop. They were in North Dakota, only about a hundred miles away from the border.

 "I need to rest Cas. My body is killing me right now. I would do anything for some painkillers." Castiel reached over and grabbed Dean’s hand. He could still feel his original coding and he pushed for it. His palm opened and two pills dropped into Dean's palm. He put his hand back onto the steering wheel and focused on finding a place to stay.

 "Do you often pop out pills?"

 "Recently, my coding has been reset. Both Naomi's and my original." He watched from the corner of his eye as Dean swallowed the pills. "They are very mild painkillers."

 "Painkillers are painkillers." Dean settled into his seat as they approach the next town.

 -

 -

 He never imagined that helping a basic droid out would get him in this much pain. His body ached still from the virus, and now his ribs hurt and head ached. He wanted to sleep on something softer than his car's leather seats. Castiel parked his car in front of a nicer looking motel and told Dean to wait in the car. After he closed his eyes for just a moment, the door opened again, causing him to jump.

 "I got a room with two beds." Dean smiled up at him even though he felt disappointed. He didn't know why, but he liked sharing a bed with Castiel. It didn't make him feel so lonely, and he actually had pleasant dreams.

 Inside the room, they both sat on their designated beds and were quiet. Dean quickly decided to change and climb into his bed. The bed felt like he was laying on a cloud made for gods. He let out a long sigh and smiled.

 "Dean."

 "What Cas?" He groaned.

 "You know, she will never stop." Dean turned to the doctor who was looking down at his fidgeting hands.

 "Why does she want you so bad? She can reprogram any other droid."

 "I do not know, but it seems like I am wanted."

 "We are almost free. Once we get to my friend Benny, I promise we will be safe Cas." He tried to sound sincere. "Get some rest Cas." Dean closed his eyes and smiled at the comfort of the bed and painkillers Castiel gave him. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

 -

 -

 Castiel watched Dean fall asleep quickly, thanking his pills. He knew that If Naomi wanted him that badly, that if she found out he was bonded with Dean, she would kill him. His network was sending him so much information that was trapped in him. He tried to hide and ignore it but now it was too late. He needed to put a stop to this all. And with this newfound knowledge, he knew that Naomi was, in fact, in North Dakota. In this exact town. He was happy Dean didn't question his route. As soon as Dean was fast asleep, he grabbed the car keys and quietly left the room.

 It was dark, the sun had set only a few hours before. He parked Dean's car a few blocks from the facility and walked the rest. The guard standing outside the small gate eyed him with glowing green eyes before letting him in. Through the empty lobby and into an elevator, he sucked in a breath and waited for it to open to a somewhat familiar place.

 "Castiel. So glad to see you." Her voice caused every circuit in his body to turn cold. Memories flooded and he pushed them away to favor the task at hand.

 "Naomi. I request my freedom." She did not laugh. Or scoff. She simply smiled and looked down.

 "Why would I grant that. You've had your freedom. It is time for you to work."

 "You do not understand." He unbuttoned his shirt and pushed his hand into his plate. It clicked open and revealed an exposed reactor. "I request my freedom or I shall grant yours." He prodded inside his plate until his reactor glowed red.

 "Are you threatening me Castiel?"

 "I am."

 It was quiet for a moment. Before she laid her hands flat on the desk and slowly pushed herself up to her feet.

 "I have programed you well Castiel. I only need the chip and you are free to go."

 "What chip?"

 "The reason I've been after you has been for your chip. I do not care that you are bonded with a human." She put her hand out, palm up. He had no idea what she was talking about until his hardware finally kicked in and he pulled out the chip with ease.

 "You will grant me my freedom forever with the trade of a simple chip?"

 "Yes."

 Castiel placed the chip in her palm and quickly deactivates his reactor, closing his plate. He watched as her eyes glistened in joy before he turned to leave.

 "Castiel." She called. "Enjoy human life."

 He couldn't help but smile as he walked away. He knew his hardware was smarter than her. As he walked back to the car, an explosion occurred and the sound of fire ringed in his ears.

 -

 Back at the motel, he found Dean awake and furious.

 "You left me here, and you took my car." He was still in bed but his arms were crossed in displeasure. "You can't just take my car. You know, your nervousness woke me up. Where have you been?"

 Castiel did not hesitate as he climbed into the same bed as Dean, and pushed into the human’s personal space to peck his lips with a kiss.

 "Taking care of a needle in the haystack." He curled next to his human and smiled. He will explain his happiness to Dean another time, he just wanted Dean's shock to subside so he could goack to sleep. This time with Castiel at his side by his choice and not by a motel's limitation.

 The End.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Fixed the big gaps. If there is any other problems, feel free to tell me! I'll fix them.


End file.
